Coke Unveils Drinkable Billboard at Final Four

Coca-Cola has taken a stride in instantaneous advertising with the launch of a ‘Drinkable Billboard’ at the 2015 NCAA Final Four Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Coca-Cola has taken a stride in instantaneous advertising with the launch of a ‘Drinkable Billboard’ at the 2015 NCAA Final Four Men’s Basketball Tournament.

The soda magnate debuted the new attraction for its Coke Zero brand in White River State Park in Indianapolis, not far from Lucas Oil Stadium, where the NCAA Final Four game was being held. The billboard fires Coke Zero through 4,500 feet of tubing, which has been arranged to spell out the slogan ‘Taste It’. From there the Coke is funneled to six drinking spouts in a public sampling area beneath the advertisement.

It may sound simple but this is actually quite a feat of engineering for a soft drink. Utilizing a highly intricate system to pressurize and feed the beverage, the billboard measures 26 feet high by 36 feet long and involves over 75 valves and 16 sensors to assist the four high-pressure pumps in feeding the beverage to the patrons below.

According to Coca-Cola, the amount of compressed air used in the ad could fill all of the basketballs used during the entire NCAA March Madness Tournament.

Photo via Flickr/ Bill Wilson

In a statement Coke said, “Drinkable advertising is an innovative approach to removing barriers and making it ridiculously easy for those who are open to try Coke Zero to enjoy it in fun and unique ways.”

Coke is hoping to bring more people over to its low-calorie, low-sugar alternative as soft drink manufacturers continue to take heat from health advocates. Undoubtedly, there will still be those who frown upon such instantaneous and arguably impulsive access to a soft drink, but in this ever-growing world of instant gratification – not to mention the slow death of brick-and-mortar stores – this may just be a glimpse at the future of branding and shopping itself. Imagine walking by a bus-shelter ad for the new iPhone, only to be able to upgrade your existing phone right then and there. Or to walk by a billboard for a shirt, only to be able to get one in your size instantly, with the push of a button or a quick scan of your phone.

Sure, it may sound like sci-fi now, but can it really be that far off?